What Your Season of Birth Can Say about Your Personality

It seems that, among other factors, your mood and temperament depend on your season of birth, according to a new study.

Since ancient times, astrology has tried to link one’s personality traits to the influence of the planets at the time they were born. Now, in a way, scientists come to recognize the correlation between the date of birth and the human temperament. Along with personality traits, the study also showed that the season of birth can significantly affect the risk of mental disorders in the future.

The researchers, led by assistant professor Xenia Gonda of the Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary, studied over 400 people with an average age of 21 years, aiming at correlating personality traits and potential disorders to the participants’ season of birth.

The results of the study, presented at the congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology in Berlin, showed that:

– Hyperthymic people (those characterized by excessively positive reactions and increased energy) were born mainly in spring and summer.

– Most people with cyclothymic personality – i.e. those who suffer from frequent swings between sad and cheerful moods – were born in summer. Instead, people born in winter are very unlikely to be moody.

– Those born in the winter months were found to have a smaller tendency to irritability and anger than those who were born in other seasons.

– Those born in autumn seem to be less prone to depression compared with those who were born in winter.

According to prof Gonda, previous biochemical studies have shown that the time of birth was linked to certain neurotransmitters, in particular dopamine and serotonin, which can be detected even when a person reaches adulthood. “This led us to believe that birth season may have a longer-lasting effect. Basically, it seems that when you are born may increase or decrease your chance of developing certain mood disorders,” she said.

Previous studies have also shown that the time of birth plays a role in whether someone is more or less susceptible to various diseases, both physical and mental, such as schizophrenia, epilepsy and brain tumors. It was also found that the time of birth can be related to creativity and innovative thinking.

The researchers also noted that, at present, it is not yet possible to tell what mechanisms behind the time of birth exert such a lasting effect. At the same time, they don’t exclude that some genes that are activated or deactivated depending on the season of birth may be involved.

Anna LeMind

Anna is the founder and lead editor of the website Learning-mind.com. She is passionate about learning new things and reflecting on thought-provoking ideas. She writes about science, psychology and other related topics. She is particularly interested in topics regarding introversion, consciousness and subconscious, perception, human mind's potential, as well as the nature of reality and the universe.